Through a TV show, two movies and Candace Bushnell’s novels, fans have seen Carrie Bradshaw grow from a small-town teenager into an ever-romantic shoe connoisseur. It’s no surprise that Carrie and her friends Samantha Jones, Miranda Hobbes and Charlotte York keep changing — for Bushnell, 52, that shows depth. “They’re evolving the way real people do,” the New Yorker says. In her newest book, “Summer and the City” (a sequel to last year’s young adult-geared “SATC” prequel “The Carrie Diaries”), Bushnell offers another glimpse into Carrie’s past.

How do you introduce your “Sex and the City” characters — known for their open attitudes toward sex ‚ to a younger audience? I just try to make them very appropriate to the time. In the early ’80s, people were just by nature a little more naive. I think that there was more of an innocence about sex. People didn’t know everything.

What have these prequels taught you about Carrie and her friends? They become the characters in “Sex and the City” because of what they went through in their 20s in New York. It was a different time; there was a lot of pressure on women in their 20s, and there was a real stigma to being single.

What do you want readers to learn about Carrie and New York City? New York is a tough place to be as a young person. Carrie really has to go after what she wants; it isn’t handed to her.

Why do you think people connect with Carrie? I always say that she’s an everygirl, but I don’t think that’s true. This is a character who is an individual — she’s a quirky character who gets into trouble, and she isn’t afraid to be herself in all these different situations. She’s not afraid to explore who she is.